Canada Rated Best Country For Business

Canada ranks No. 1 in our annual look at the Best Countries for Business. While the U.S. is paralyzed by fears of a double-dip recession and Europe struggles with sovereign debt issues, Canada's economy has held up better than most. The $1.6 trillion economy is the ninth biggest in the world and grew 3.1% last year. It is expected to expand 2.4% in 2011, according to the Royal Bank of Canada.

Where in Canada? Name three cities in the US that are better to live in than Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver...

New York, Boston and Chicago. I'm not talking quality of living, that's for the birds. I don't care how "liveable" Vienna, Zurich or Geneva are, those places will never be as cool as London, Paris or Rome no matter how far down the rankings they fall. Same logic applies for these Canadian cities. Montreal is a town full of people who can speak neither proper English nor proper French. Vancouver is asepticized and has sore hockey fans. Toronto is the financial gateway to a country whose economy is a little over a tenth as small as the U.S.

The fact is, it's really a matter of personal preference and to take some"quality of living" survey to be the arbiter of which cities are better is ridiculous unless you have the same priorities as the surveymakers (which I evidently don't).

I do have to admit (as a Canadian) that the purported reasons for having Canada as #1 are a little strange. First of all, although Canadian unemployment is significantly better than south of the border, Australia for example has barely 5.3% at last count (slighly more than half of American figures and ~25% lower than Canada). The "progressive" Harmonized Sales Tax in BC and Ontario was recently (last month) voted down in BC and is most likely on it's way out in Ontario after the coming provincial election on Thursday. Canada's also pretty under-invested in Green Collar industry and personal taxes and freedoms can't possibly be world-leading although competitive. The US obviously wouldn't win on those metrics but perhaps another [Scandinavian/Asian/Oceanic] country should have.

"Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to become the means by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of other men. Blood, whips and guns or dollars."

Canadians have a funny accent. That's reason enough not to live there. Anyone that pronounces the word "about" as "aboot" is not to be trusted.

No one does this. Except maybe the people in the far north or the newfies. I have yet to come across one person in Toronto who pronounces it aboot. That's like saying Americans have a funny accent because they pronounce "you all" as "yawl".

Canadians have a funny accent. That's reason enough not to live there. Anyone that pronounces the word "about" as "aboot" is not to be trusted.

No one does this. Except maybe the people in the far north or the newfies. I have yet to come across one person in Toronto who pronounces it aboot. That's like saying Americans have a funny accent because they pronounce "you all" as "yawl".

Canadians have a funny accent. That's reason enough not to live there. Anyone that pronounces the word "about" as "aboot" is not to be trusted.

No one does this. Except maybe the people in the far north or the newfies. I have yet to come across one person in Toronto who pronounces it aboot. That's like saying Americans have a funny accent because they pronounce "you all" as "yawl".

Yeah ditto, I never ran into any Canadian that says 'aboot' in my 20 odd years here. I seriously don't know where Americans are getting this from.

Americans and Europeans in my training class didn't know I'm Canadian until I told them. The only differences I've noticed with my US (ny) friends are quite subtle. Example: we pronounce sorry like the Brits - sORry with the 'O' emphasis, whereas they say sorry like 'sARRy' and sounds like an 'A' is in there.

Canadians have a funny accent. That's reason enough not to live there. Anyone that pronounces the word "about" as "aboot" is not to be trusted.

No one does this. Except maybe the people in the far north or the newfies. I have yet to come across one person in Toronto who pronounces it aboot. That's like saying Americans have a funny accent because they pronounce "you all" as "yawl".

I grew up in Ann Arbor, lived 45 minutes rom Canada, spent many evenings in Windsor between the ages of 19 and 21, and I can confirm from personal experience that every canuck I met pronounced it "aboot".

that said, I was kidding about that being cause to not live in Canada. I'm pretty partial to Canada actually; Toronto and Montreal are great cities.

What are the tax rates in Canada for people earning $100,000-$250,000 ? Similar to the U.S. or more onerous ?

I've heard/read that Toronto is the cleanest city in North America, and that Montreal women are the best looking.

Regardless, it is cold year round and I hate ice hockey......

Toronto has the same climate as New York, Montreal has a similar climate to Chicago, and Vancouver is somewhere between Seattle and San Francisco.

Taxes differ from province to province but in Ontario... if you made 250 K... your top tax bracket (everything over 128K) is taxed at 29% with the first 128K at 15/22/26 PLUS Ontario taxes at 11% on over 75 K and 5/9 under... so you're effective tax rate at 250K would be ~ 37-38%... so fairly high but lower than New York.

And yes hockey blows but Toronto has the Raptors, the Jays... and probably an NFL team soon enough.

"Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to become the means by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of other men. Blood, whips and guns or dollars."

Maybe Canada wouldn't be so great if it bordered Mexico instead of the USA?

Canada is a fine country and Toronto is very nice, but I don't think it would even rank on the list without the USA right next door.

Neither would the US without Canada next door to provide lumber, oil, natural gas and all the myriad of trade instruments exchanged between the two countries. Children of a common mother and all that jazz.

"Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to become the means by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of other men. Blood, whips and guns or dollars."

I do enjoy living in Canada, but must say there is a certain quality that NYC, Boston have that no Candian city could ever match. Also the weather and being near a beach in San Deigo, Miami are sure hard to beat.All said, you cannot say that Canada is probably the best place for business right now that is what happens when you hire a former goldman banker to run your monetary policy. Besides the Potash takeover, Canada has been extremely business friendly, ran up few national budget deficits or raised taxes in the last three years.

As for Potash I think most Americans would even agree, made the right decision there. Potash was too key to give away. Would be like China buying APPL.

You're right, to each his own. Just remember, if I have the freedom to carry my pistol, which I do, so if the position arises where I need it, I have it. I mean no disrespect, and like I said, I would love to visit Canada one day.

I've always found the desire to carry a firearm an incredible cultural element. I've lived in 3 major Canadian cities, and some smaller towns, and have never found the need to need a weapon of any kind. Very rarely have I even felt uneasy walking through a downtown at 11:00PM etc.

Can someone explain to me why the desire to carry a weapon, for an unlikely situation that requires you to use deadly force? I really do want to understand it. In NYC (vacation) I never felt the need, nor when I was in Texas, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican, all over Europe....I've just never felt a need so I don't understand it.

I think it's a symptom of fundamentally different world views and personality types.

Most people - particularly in other countries - are completely comfortable putting their faith in the systems around them that make up society. These tend to be the folks that disapprove of guns and wonder why anyone would want one.

A smaller number of people (myself included in this number) live through the lens of "always always always be able to rely on yourself as a backup if the systems around you fail". This is not limited to guns / criminals. I do a lot of backwoods / outdoorsy things (camping, rock climbing, mountain biking, etc.) that take me to extremely remote areas. I bring my gun with me. In all likelihood, I'll never use it, and if I do it will probably be to scare off a bear or mountain lion that gets too curious, but it's a tool in the bag. I don't have the option of calling someone to help me in a pinch if the closest person is 3 hours away.

Another example - not related to a gun, but symptomatic of this world view, is that I keep a tub of supplies in the basement. I have 8 cases of water, and enough dried / canned foods to last 2 people about 3 months. I hope it sits down there forever, but I lived in city with 8 million people and if I needed to scoop up the wife and make a hasty exit for any reason, I was prepared.

I size everyone up in a room as soon as I enter. I take note of the exits. I'm constantly aware of everything around me, without realizing that I do it. I often think I should have tried to join the CIA instead of being a consultant :) But alas, I'm just another regular dude. You probably call me paranoid, and that label doesn't bother me. Paranoid, to me, implies constant distraction to the point of interfering with your life. In my case, you could never tell by looking at me or interacting with me that I am the way I am.

Ultimately, my beef isn't a chip on the shoulder about the government interfering in my business. It's about relying on myself as a backup. I hope to god I never have to shoot anybody, or any living thing for that matter, but I pray even more that if I'm in a situation that requires it, that I'm prepared.

Canadians need to pump up their country every damn chance they get on this website just shows insecurity. If you really believed your country was superior to the States, you wouldn't feel the need to highlight meaningless surveys and rankings on WSO. If Americans on this site cited rankings where we're number one, we'd need to create a new website just to cover all the bases. Canada is a great country, but to say it's superior to the U.S. is naive.

Canadians need to pump up their country every damn chance they get on this website just shows insecurity. If you really believed your country was superior to the States, you wouldn't feel the need to highlight meaningless surveys and rankings on WSO. If Americans on this site cited rankings where we're number one, we'd need to create a new website just to cover all the bases. Canada is a great country, but to say it's superior to the U.S. is naive.

Now how aboot that?

By your logic, there are an awful lot of insecure Americans out there.

Canadians need to pump up their country every damn chance they get on this website just shows insecurity. If you really believed your country was superior to the States, you wouldn't feel the need to highlight meaningless surveys and rankings on WSO. If Americans on this site cited rankings where we're number one, we'd need to create a new website just to cover all the bases. Canada is a great country, but to say it's superior to the U.S. is naive.

Now how aboot that?

Its called supporting your point of view or providing a consensus or providing evidence to back up my claim.

No matter where you tread on the internet.....you can never get away from the Canadian inferiority complex.

It's silly to call it an inferiority complex. There's no doubt that Canadians have an inherent desire to be "noticed" by Americans... it's always a big news story when a Canadian succeeds in the US etc, which you might call an inferiority complex, but it's really attention seeking.

I'm an ex-pat Canadian in the US and there are certain things I love about America, but certain things where, especially in recent years, the culture has become ridiculous. The state of government and overall polarization in the US is sickening. You have this to some degree in Canada, but we aren't waiting until the 11th hour to finalize policy and nearly defaulting on debt. It's evidenced on WSO with all the ridiculous hate for Obama, when in reality, McCain or whoever trotted out for the Republicans would have fucked up just as much. The politics of the last few years has really dampened my previously high respect for the US.

And while owning a gun for protection is all fine and dandy, there's no disputing that the US has a far higher violent crime rate and in certain parts of major cities, people live in constant fear of gangs/violent criminals.

Throw in healthcare, where at least in Canada, everyone can get basic care and I think it's really hard to make the argument that America is a more liveable country than Canada.

I like them both, but even if I spend the rest of my life here, I will always be a Canadian.

Has nothign to do with the need. It has to do with the freedom to do so. I despise the government telling me or any citizen what to do. That's not their job.

By this logic, governments should stop making any laws that are restrictive in nature (drug laws, drinking and driving, etc...). I'm sure you don't actually believe this, you just have an issue with that one particular restriction (guns).

wallstreetmonkey85:

Oh, and I have never heard anyone say "aboot" but I have heard "aboat"

This is definitely true in Toronto - there, any variation from the U.S. pronunciation is the latter one.

You think these gang members and other criminals get guns legally or illegally? Think about that for a second.

We weren't even close to defaulting on our debt, do a little research before making ignorant assumptions.

It doesn't matter how they get them. They have incredibly easy access to weapons. I have no issue with you owning a rifle or shotgun for hunting in Texas, but there's way too much freedom in gun laws at the expense of public safety. The gun crime stats do not lie. The US has the highest homicide rate in developed western countries. Cities like Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans and Philly have homicide rates up there with places like Columbia and Jamaica. That is truly fucked up.

Really??? And what would have happened if the debt ceiling bill had not been passed? Butterflies and roses? Obviously an agreement was going to be reached, but the damage to the markets and overall confidence (see downgrade, partially justified by the state of the political environment) all the partisan bullshit caused shouldn't be acceptable. The whole situation just illustrated how much partisanship is placed above the best interests of the country. You've got to be delusional if you think the state of politics in the US is healthy right now.

i cannot believe we haven't discussed the war of 1812 with the canadians yet... they absolutely love that shit. anyway i have been to toronoto and absolutely loved it there- truly a great city... the women were also very decent.

i am definitely biased, and although canada is larger than the u.s. it can never match its diversity. the u.s. is truly unparalleled in its geographic, climatic, and bio diversity. we have beautiful coastlines and beaches, enormous deserts, mountains, swamps, forests, and plains regions (along with dozens of islands in the caribbean). We also have a true melting pot bringing with it customs, traditions, and food from around the world. i have traveled throughout ontario for fishing, hunting, and several trips to toronto and have seen only a handful of black people. the only noticeable minority i did encounter were east asians; likely chinese and filipino. after spending over a year in germany everything began to get pretty vanilla (pun intended) and i really began to miss the diversity and variety that only the u.s. can offer. i have no doubt that canada is a great place to live and i would still love to see montreal, vancouver, and calgary, but even with all of its current problems i still believe the u.s. to be the greatest country in the world and i am truly fortunate that i live here.

i have traveled throughout ontario for fishing, hunting, and several trips to toronto and have seen only a handful of black people.

this may have something to do with us not participating in the whole slavery thing as much as you boys down south...

last time I checked Canada is one of the most multicultural countries in the world, so not sure where you are getting this notion of Canada not being diverse from

Yeah agreed - Canada is very multicultural... Toronto especially.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Toronto The demographics of Toronto make Toronto one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Data released by Statistics Canada as part of the 2006 census indicates that Toronto is more ethnically diverse than Miami, Los Angeles, and New York City. 49.9% of Toronto's population is foreign-born.

krmier: if you're going to Ontario for fishing and nature, you're probably only going to the boonies and typically those cities are predominantly white (immigrants generally flock to larger cities and suburbs). This is the equivalent of me going down to some cities down south and expecting to see Asians.

i cannot believe we haven't discussed the war of 1812 with the canadians yet... they absolutely love that shit. anyway i have been to toronoto and absolutely loved it there- truly a great city... the women were also very decent.

i am definitely biased, and although canada is larger than the u.s. it can never match its diversity. the u.s. is truly unparalleled in its geographic, climatic, and bio diversity. we have beautiful coastlines and beaches, enormous deserts, mountains, swamps, forests, and plains regions (along with dozens of islands in the caribbean). We also have a true melting pot bringing with it customs, traditions, and food from around the world. i have traveled throughout ontario for fishing, hunting, and several trips to toronto and have seen only a handful of black people. the only noticeable minority i did encounter were east asians; likely chinese and filipino. after spending over a year in germany everything began to get pretty vanilla (pun intended) and i really began to miss the diversity and variety that only the u.s. can offer. i have no doubt that canada is a great place to live and i would still love to see montreal, vancouver, and calgary, but even with all of its current problems i still believe the u.s. to be the greatest country in the world and i am truly fortunate that i live here.

Most major Canadian cities are much more multicultural than their US counterparts, you cant make a blanket statement based on a hunting trip into Ontario and a few trips into Toronto. The difference like you said betwee Canada and the US is the melting pot versus mosaic. In Canada visible minories are free to practice their cultures without feeling pressured to blend into society. The mark of a truly free country is not whether you can carry a gun but whether you can openly believe and practice what you want without having to feel fear or having to conform to society, and fundamentally a melting pot doesnt allow that.

I cant believe NO ONE has brought up the fact that when the canucks lost the stanley cup they burnt down their own city.....

I cant believe NO ONE has brought up the fact that the LA Riots happened in a country like America, that country musty be a really dangerous and lawless place...

I'm sure you would agree that's a dumb statement to make, probably a bit easier to see that when it's in the context of your own country. The Vancouver riot was an isolated incident. I am by no means justifying it, as pretty much every Canadian thought it was a dumb except for the select few participating, but it would be silly to draw conclusions about an entire country based on one event. The thread is about doing business in Canada, it seems rather petty that your argument against Canada is that one riot took place.

I cant believe NO ONE has brought up the fact that when the canucks lost the stanley cup they burnt down their own city.....

I cant believe NO ONE has brought up the fact that the LA Riots happened in a country like America, that country musty be a really dangerous and lawless place...

I'm sure you would agree that's a dumb statement to make, probably a bit easier to see that when it's in the context of your own country. The Vancouver riot was an isolated incident. I am by no means justifying it, as pretty much every Canadian thought it was a dumb except for the select few participating, but it would be silly to draw conclusions about an entire country based on one event. The thread is about doing business in Canada, it seems rather petty that your argument against Canada is that one riot took place.

Your kidding me right? If your referring to the LA riots in 92 then we are talking about riots sparked by a racial bias that has been going on for decades in a city where police brutality against african americans is prevalent.

They lost a fucking hockey game bro...sounds like a pretty stupid reasons to throw a tissy fit and trash your "beautiful city"

Here's the thing. If you can't spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, you are the sucker.

I cant believe NO ONE has brought up the fact that when the canucks lost the stanley cup they burnt down their own city.....

I cant believe NO ONE has brought up the fact that the LA Riots happened in a country like America, that country musty be a really dangerous and lawless place...

I'm sure you would agree that's a dumb statement to make, probably a bit easier to see that when it's in the context of your own country. The Vancouver riot was an isolated incident. I am by no means justifying it, as pretty much every Canadian thought it was a dumb except for the select few participating, but it would be silly to draw conclusions about an entire country based on one event. The thread is about doing business in Canada, it seems rather petty that your argument against Canada is that one riot took place.

Give me a break dude. It has nothing to do with freedom and all to do with not wanting to fit in. There's a melting pot in the US because people want to feel part of something larger.

Well I think thats the point, wanting to fit in. Ive travelled quite a bit and not just for like a weekend here or there, but actually lived in a few different places and I've always admired the fact that in Canada people come here and maintain their own cultures and its totally cool with everyone. We understand when people wear traditional clothing or dont speak the best english or eat different food at work. Only here will you see street signs in Chinese, Punjabi, French, whatever the locals speak just to make them feel more comfortable. Granted in America this is the case for spanish, but your mexican population is much larger than most of the visible minority groups in Canada that get that sort of treatment.

And the amazing thing is that it helps immigrants feel way more a part of Canada, which is why when things like the Vancouver riots happen there are like visible minorites right beside caucasions rioting together. Thats what I call national pride. Economcially this is a huge benefit because A). We thankfully so far dont have anyone attacking us, and B). the birth rate in developed countries is so low that skilled immigration is the way of the future.

I'll agree to point B. Personally, I'd rather just have people blend unless they're starting a restaurant. And using the Vancouver riots as an example of national pride is ridiculous. There were people of all stripes out and about in Boston after the Pats, Sox, Celtics and Bruins championships of the past years.

I'll agree to point B. Personally, I'd rather just have people blend unless they're starting a restaurant. And using the Vancouver riots as an example of national pride is ridiculous. There were people of all stripes out and about in Boston after the Pats, Sox, Celtics and Bruins championships of the past years.

Boston has had a ridiculous sports run lately, I would love to have been a Bostonian over the last 10 years.But thats another thread.